Mortals As They Walk is a riveting sci-fi thriller that delves into the ethical quagmire of genetic engineering.

Pate Williamson, a once-promising tech innovator now living on the streets, is recruited for a secretive project promising riches?but at a cost. Eris, a woman grappling with the loss of her family and child, joins the same experiment, seeking answers to her past. Meanwhile, Salim, a teenager raised in a carefully curated lie, discovers his true identity as a product of this very project, making him a target in a dangerous game.

Spanning from 2006 to 2038, their stories intertwine across continents, from the cobblestone streets of Heidelberg, Germany to the windswept cliffs of the Outer Hebrides in Scotland. As they uncover a conspiracy involving nanobiots, in vitro modifications, and corporate greed, they're hunted by black market forces desperate to exploit their unique DNA. With the fate of humanity's future in their hands, Pate, Eris, and Salim must decide whether to end the experiment that created them or risk its misuse.

Blending high-stakes suspense with profound ethical questions, McDowell crafts a narrative that echoes Gattaca and The Island. This thought-provoking tale explores free will, identity, and the cost of perfection in a world where science can rewrite destiny.

Markus McDowell is an author and editor of fiction and nonfiction in multiple genres. He is the author of Nuff Sed: A Novel of Desert Steve, To and Fro Upon the Earth: A Novel, Mortals As They Walk, Onesimus: A Novel of Christianity in the Roman Empire, and two short story collections, The Sky Over Chaos and So Deep in Shadow, as well as several nonfiction books in law, theology, and literature in the ancient world. He lives in California on a boat and travels extensively.